In numerous electrical lighting applications, proper area lighting or spot lighting is essential to highlight potentially hazardous conditions, or to satisfy building code requirements. In outdoor lighting applications, it is common to light steps and walkways for safety and to spot light certain regions or objects for decorative effects. It is also common to illuminate swimming pools for both night time safety and decorative effect.
In indoor lighting applications, it is essential for safety and code requirements to reliably illuminate exits inside public buildings, and it is frequently desirable to provide decorative effects with accent lighting at selected locations in rooms and hallways.
In hazardous environments, electrical lighting apparatus is commonly insulated or sealed off from the environment in order to minimize the risks of fire or explosion or electrocution, or the like, due to failure of the lighting apparatus. In addition, it is frequently desirable to have reliable indicator lights such as exit signs and direction indications in public hallways be fabricated to withstand fire and smoke and heat so that the vital functions of such lights are not immediately destroyed by the hazard in which they are intended to provide visual assistance.